FAT CITY

You see a lot of suspension stories in CLASSIC TRUCKS magazine, and for good reason: we're all a bunch of wusses! Well, maybe not wusses, but our standards of comfort have certainly been raised in the decades since our favorite fat-fendered pickups rolled down the assembly line. These days we want it all when we construct our classic cruisers--vintage looks, modern ride quality, and enough power to scare the heck out of the hapless person in the passenger seat.This story will help address two of those desires: comfort and power. We'll be following along as the crew at D&P Classic Chevy installs a No Limit Engineering Fatbar rear suspension on a '56 Chevy pickup (Don't fret Ford folks--installation will be nearly identical on most '48-66 Blue Oval applications.). The Fatbar is a setup that's designed to provide a better ride in the rear (more cush for your truck's tush, if you will), while also planting your pickup's power where it belongs--on the pavement.

Let's start with the comfort factor. Pickups start out with a ride quality disadvantage compared to cars because there's very little weight in the rear to help keep things stable. Couple that with the fact that many early trucks had stiff rear leaf springs to handle heavy loads and you can see why these old rigs were known for bouncing all over the road. There are a number of ways to improve the ride while retaining the leaf springs, but many rodders prefer to convert to four-link (or four-bar) style rear suspensions because they're more adjustable and, quite frankly, look trick. But it's not all about vanity--any drag racer will tell you that four-links transfer power more efficiently than leaf springs. And if done right, four-links can provide a smoother ride to boot.

According to No Limit's literature, the Fatbar system incorporates several unique design features to capitalize on that last asset. First are the bars themselves, which, at 30 inches, are longer than most to help achieve smoother weight transfer. They're also larger in diameter--hence the "Fatbar" moniker. The Panhard rod also measures in at 30 inches, and it mounts low and to the rear to provide a low roll center and less radial deflection. And finally, the Fatbar setup is designed to use coilover shocks with long (5-inch) strokes and soft (around 200 pounds) springs to really smooth out the ride.

Speaking of shocks, we used Ultra Ride coilovers (PN UR5855P) from QA1 Precision Products. These particular shocks provide soft compression and adjustable rebound rates, which allows the spring to handle most of the compression work and lets you dial in the rebound valving by choosing from 12 different settings on a knob at the base of the shock. The coilovers look trick, too, with a bright anodized aluminum body and a powdercoated "chrome-appearing" spring providing adequate eye candy without being overly flashy.

All in all, installation of the Fatbar setup was pretty straightforward, only taking D&P's Craig Peterson and Brandon Tabares a few hours' (that includes stalling for photos). That means a typical hobbyist could probably tackle the task in about a day, depending on his or her experience and the pickup's state of assembly (or disassembly). Adding to the ease of installation is the fact that all of the frame brackets are designed to bolt on, although the guys at D&P opted to weld them for optimum strength and a cleaner appearance. The only parts that actually require welding are the five brackets that attach to the axle housing itself. With that said, let's get on with the show.